I heard the oscar ns does not have an adjustable opv and I seen on here that people have found ways too do it will it really make a difference in brewing ? I havent been able yet too get that reddish brown crema I realize as well theres other factors like grind, coffee freshness I'm still looking for that nice shot....Btw hi everyone.

Helen, Plindy, and I are actually getting together for a complete Oscar teardown and rebuild. I'm bringing a professional camera and will be documenting the entire experience. None of us are adding an OPV. Instead, we'll be adding flow-restricting gicleurs to the heat exchanger to better balance the temperature changes and water dance. I don't know about reddish brown crema, but a thick, 3/4" pillow of golden brown crema is pretty standard on my semi-broken Oscar with cheap beans. I think the red crema comes from using certain boutique coffee beans from roasters with Hipstery names.

You mentioned a leak and now you're suddenly asking about adding an OPV. Did you find the source of the leak? If you're not sure what the part is, you can post a picture. You gotta give us more information on your setup so we can advise you. As posted above, what's your grinder? If you're using an electric grinder with an MSRP under $300 that could be the issue right there.

I think the water is coming from the the two hollow pockets on the side of the driptray..How are you goin to trick the oscar out I suppose this will enhance its performance? Is adding a pid to the oscar an upgrade or good idea, if so is it hard to install one?

I looked at the pump today after laying the oscar on its back and the date read 14/12/00 I suppose thats the year 2000 if so would that tell me what year the one I have came out What are some smart upgrades for my oscar since I dont think its the one of the newer ones

Second of all, you still haven't let us know what kind of grinder you're using. We simply can't help you if you don't let us know. 2000 is a very old Oscar indeed, and it likely has a few things that could need replacing. The biggest of these is the pressurestat, or PSTAT. Older Oscars came with a tiny, fragile one, made by Mater. The newer ones use big, fist-sized units, made by Sirai. Did you take the top off your Oscar? It's six screws, with two under the water reservoir lid.

PIDs are generally not modded onto Heat Exchanger machines, due to how they work. You need to learn to "water dance," which is a term for properly gauging the time of your cooling flush before each shot. It's not terribly hard and can be summed up by saying that as soon as the water has stopped hissing/boiling, you're probably okay to brew.

The mods we're undergoing are adding flow-restricting gicleurs to the group head so that our water dance is more stable, a linear steam valve, like on an Aurelia or Appia, instead of a knob, and a vacuum breaker, which will allow us to put the Oscar on a timer. Without the vacuum breaker, the Oscar needs someone to turn the steam knob briefly to bleed the false pressure before the unit can properly heat up. We're also dunking our parts in descaler and I'm getting a new boiler insulation sock (yay!).

SMC, please do the following: Let us know what kind of grinder you have. I can understand if you don't want to tell us because if you have something like a Capresso Infinity, you'll immediately be told by everyone on this forum to go out and drop a few Bennies on a real grinder or get a Hario hand grinder. It's just how espresso works. And please take the cover off your machine so we can try and help you pinpoint that leak. If you don't take the cover off, it could be anything from your two way valve leaking to your heat exchanger failing. We just won't know until you do it.

Also, sniff the steam coming out of the wand. Does it smell funky? You probably need a descale. When was the last time the machine had a detergent backflush? A gasket/shower screen replacement? These are some things to consider.

I have been buying beans from a local roaster and taking them to sweetbay to grind them on the grinder they have in coffe e aisle, but I just orderd a hario mini that should get to me next to me next wedk.i did open uo the oscar today and took bottom screws off and I only saw small droplets coming from the middle section where the screw goes I mentioned earlier that the hollow pockets on the side of the drip tray seem to collect water and the water seems to slide out at the bottom.I de scaled the oscar on 1/18/13.

The Hario mini is a good start, though I would have recommended the Skerton, if you can still exchange it. It grinds faster and is easier to adjust and modify.

You mentioned you took the bottom panel out, but not the top panel. If you take the top off, you should be able to see where the leak is coming from if you use a light. See how it behaves with the top off when brewing and when not brewing. A supermarket grinder will not cut it, so don't get discouraged if you're not pulling anything drinkable yet.

The old Pstats were harder to adjust and failed much more easily than the new Sirai ones. But if it works, best let it be.

Why would those grinders in sweetbay not work I think to myself sometimes hence they go all the way to turkish żAnyway dont have much to invest now well see how the hario does

I did observed it with top off markarian and saw droplets coming out the middle section were the screw went but again the screw was off I in inspected while flushing water ou the group head and nothing that I was looking at was leaking I tightened the screws on tight and due for later,obsevation .

I left it on now for abour an hour now and the counter does not have a puddle but like I said ther is slots on both sides if the drip tray water seems to go in there and slide through but I not saying that is it yet...

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